action was esteemed fo admirable and heroic, that all the company joined in paying her the due compliments for it, on her return. Never, perhaps, was woman fo much applauded for fuch an expedition. At length, whether by accident or defign, the Princess Royal broke a drinking glafs. This fignal was enough for our impetuofity, and appeared an example worthy of imitation. In an inftant our glaffes flew against the fides of the faloon; and the china, luftres, mirrours, &c. were all broken into ten thousand pieces: the Prince, in the midst of this general deftruction, calmly looking about him, and, like the man of fortitude in Horace, hearing the mighty crafh, and smiling at the ruins. Tumult, however, fucceeding to mirth, his Highnefs very prudently withdrew, and, by the affiftance of his Pages, reached his apartment. The Princefs alfo difappeared at the fame moment. As to myfelf, not finding a fingle footman humane enough to direct my reeling fteps, and preferve my tottering figure in equilibrio, I got to the edge of the great staircase, and fairly rolled down from the top to the bottom; where I lay fome time without fenfe or motion. There alfo I might poffibly have expired, had not an old houfe-maid come by chance that way, and in the dark ftumbled over me; upon which, taking me for the great shock dog of the place, fhe gave me a hearty curfe, and at the fame time a violent kick in the belly but finding afterwards that I was a man, and what was more, a young Courtier, she began to have fome compaffion, and called out for affiftance; when my fervants coming up, they carried me home to bed. A Surgeon was then fent for, who bled me, dreffed my wounds, and thus brought me a little to myfelf. The next morning they talked of a contufion, and of a fracture, and of my fubmitting to the trepane: of this, however, I am quit, with only the apprehenfions, and a fortnight's confinement to my bed: during which time the Prince hath been fo kind as to vifit me every day, and to contribute every thing in his power to my

cure.

"The next morning the whole court was in a whimsical,diftrefs; neither the Prince, nor any of his Gentlemen, could raife their heads off the pillow; the Princefs being obliged to dine alone. For my part, I fuffered very confiderably from the hurt I received; and have had fufficient leifure to moralize on my adventure. At prefent, however, I adopt in part the Italian proverb, Paffato il pericolo, gabato il fanto, and laugh among the reft at my own misfortune. This evening's work will not be foon forgotten at Rheinfberg, where fuch bacchanalian exploits are but rare. The Prince Royal is by no means a drinker. He facrifices as yet only to Apollo and the Mufes; tho' there may come a time when he shall erect as many altars to Mars."

Our noble Author hath lived to fee this prediction fulfilled, and even to suffer himself much more from the martial expeditions of the King, than from the bacchanalian exploits of the Prince.

There was fomething extremely fingular, and even favage, according to our Author, in the character and difpofition of the late King of Pruffia; of which he gives us fome remarkable inftances, in his extreme contempt for the fciences, and the unaccountable antipathies he fometimes took againft perfons and things, without reafon, and without meafure. It was in confequence of this extraordinary difpofition that, we are told, fo great a difagreement fubfifted between this Monarch and King George the fecond of England; that a duel was actually projected to be fought by these two Princes; in imitation of the Emperor Charles the fifth and Francis the firft. Nay, our Author tells us, he hath been affured, that King George had actually made choice of Brigadier Sutton for his Second; and the King of Pruffia of Colonel Derfchau: that the rendezvous was to be in the county of Hildefheim; his Britannic Majefty being then at Hanover, and his Pruffian Majefty at Saltzdahl near Brunswick. It was here Baron de Borck, who had been the Pruffian Minifter at London, but was difgracefully fent home by the English court, found his Mafter at his arrival, in fo violent a rage, that he did not think proper directly to oppose his fcheme; but pretended to approve the defign of the duel, offering himself to carry the challenge. On entering the King's apartment, however, about an hour afterwards, he took the liberty to addrefs his Majefty in the following terms.

"I must acknowlege, Sire, if I may be permitted to say fo much, as from a Gentleman to a Gentleman, that your quarrel with the King of England can by no means be decided without a duel; but your Majefty would do well to confider, that you are but just recovered of a very dangerous illness, that you are ftill extremely weak: now, if by any accident your Majefty fhould have à relapfe of your diforder the night before the combat, or be taken ill again juft at the time of action, what might not the world fay and what a fubject of triumph would that be to the King of England? How may not fuch an accident be mifreprefented? and what odious reflections may, from fuch a circumftance, be caft on your courage? Your Majefty certainly will think it prudent, therefore, to defer this encounter at leaft for a fortnight, or till fuch time as you have better recovered your health." The King, it is faid, being prevailed on, tho' with difficulty, by thefe reafons, did not fend the challenge; by which delay the Ministers on both fides gained time, the animo

fity

fity of both parties fubfided, and the year after their differences were adjusted.

Of the great contempt in which this Prince held the sciences, our Author gives us an instance or two, in the neglect, or rather the infults he used to put on the Philofophical Society, instituted by Frederic the firft: of the rife, decay, and restoration of which our Author gives us a concife relation. The Royal Academy of Sciences at Berlin, was founded and endowed by Frederic the firft; the celebrated Leibnitz, one of the greatest geniuses that ever exifted, forming the plan, and laying down the ftatutes. Accordingly he was appointed Prefident, which office he bore till his decease. Among other emoluments which Mr. Leibnitz procured for this fociety, was an actual privilege of compofing and vending almanacks throughout the states of his Pruffian Majefty: from which article alone was raised fo confiderable a fund, as not only to defray the occafional expences of the fociety, but to pay to the principal Members, refiding at Berlin, very honourable penfions. By degrees the academy acquired a very fine library, and cabinet of natural curiofities; in the mean time the King, at his own expence, erecting for them, an aftronomical Obfervatory, and other buildings necessary to their inftitution. At the inftance of Mr. Leibnitz, an aftronomical theatre was annexed alfo to the academy: that great man feeming, in this ftep, to be endowed with the gift of prophecy; this expenfive appendage alone preferving the inftitution from being totally diffolved in the fucceeding reign. Till the death of Frederic the first, the Memoirs of this fociety used to be regularly published under the title of Mifcellanea Berolinenfa: but when his fucceffor came to the throne, things took a different turn. Almost all the revenues of the ftate were employed in military affairs: this Monarch having a paffion for the profeffion of arms, and as great a contempt for letters. Add to this, that he entertained befide a fixed averfion to most of the establishments of his father. The funds of the fociety were not, indeed, entirely applied to purposes foreign to their original institution, becaufe this military Prince conceived the anatomical theatre indifpenfibly neceffary to the Surgeons of his army. The literary fociety, however, fubfifted only by favour of anatomy; his Majefty fettling penfions on his buffoons, to be paid out of the funds of the academy; one of them obtaining, at the fame time, the title of Vice-prefident.

It is not to be wondered at, that fuch inflances of ne-glect and contempt fhould abate the zeal of the feveral Members for the advancement of letters, or that learned foreigners fhould exprefs no inclination to obtain places in a fociety whofe Protector turned it into ridicule. Hence its tranfactions appeared

but

but feldom, and irregularly; the labours of the Mufes degenerating into the fports and folly of buffoonery. Thus the King propofed nothing to its confideration, except now and then a fubject of pleafantry; which the Members of this learned body generally replied to in as frivolous a ftrain. Among other things of this kind, his Majefty required of them, "to explain the phyfical caufe why two glaffes filled with champaign, and ftruck one against another, do not yield fo fhrill and clear a found as when they are filled with any other wine; their collifion yielding always, in this cafe, a very dull and heavy tone?" The Academicians anfwered, that not being accuftomed to drink champaign, it was neceflary for them to make experiments to ascertain the fact. In confequence of this reply, the King fent them a dozen bottles, to convince them of the reality of the phenomenon. The philofophers drank the wine, but neither confirmed the fact, nor folved the problem. In this ftate of indolence and declination the academy continued till the year 1740, when his prefent Majefty afcended the throne: who, being the pupil and favourite of the Muses, it was very natural for him to become their protector. This he became effectually, by new modelling the fociety, inviting a number of the first men in Europe to his court, and establishing the academy on its prefent respectable footing.

In

We have feveral letters in this collection dated from London, in the years 1741 and 1742; giving an account of the manners and cuftoms of the English. They are too trite and infignificant, however, to deferve particular attention. deed, the greatest merit of thefe Letters, confifts in the portraits which they prefent, of the character and manners of his prefent Majefty of Pruffia, and his royal brothers; which, tho' a little heightened by the flattering pencil of the Courtier, for which circumftance the Reader muft make a proper allowance, are as natural as they feem juft and faithful to the originals.

Of our Author's talents for the familiar ftrain of epiftolary writing, we fhall give a fhort fpecimen in the following letter to his filter, on his marriage.

To my Sifter, De Brombfen, at Lubeck.

Potfdam, July 1, 1748. "ELL, my dear fifter, I am at laft married, as well as you. Nor could you yourfelf be more canonically wedded, tho' to one of the greater Canons of the imperial chapter of Lubeck. I am, indeed, an hufband, a very hufband, tho' not in the manner of George Dandin, I thank heaven, as yet. I ftayed three weeks after the confummation of my nuptials at

Halle,

Halle, in order to compleat my recovery from the dangerous illnefs which attacked me at Leipfig. I was even obliged to behave to my wife, for fome time after our marriage, as the righteous ought to do with regard to the good things of this world; that is to fay, as if they had them not in poffeffion. At length, however, we arrived fafely at Berlin, where I left my spouse, in very handsome apartments that had been provided for us, and in the company of two Ladies, who lodge in the fame house, and are much my friends. For my own part, I was under the neceffity of returning to Potfdam, to pay my duty to his Majefty; who received me with his ufual marks of goodness, and loaded me with favours. I have the honour to dine and fup with him every day, at Sans-fouci, and understand that I am to accompany him in his excurfions during the fummer. By these means, you fee, my dear fifter, that I am not engaged in a dull scene of matrimonial uniformity; which is frequently the cafe when two people live constantly together, like two turtles in a cage. On the contrary, every fhort interval of abfence will give my wife the charms of novelty, while being compelled to hufband our pleafures with oeconomy, they ftand the chance of lafting the longer. Toward autumn, however, I propose to spend some weeks at Berlin, in order to take poffeffion of a magnificent hotel which I have lately purchased. It is fituated in that noble street called the Wilhelms-Strafze, and hath hitherto been occupied by his Excellency Count Keyferlink, the Ruffian Minister. It is a noble building, almoft new, hath two large wings, and a pavilion at the end of each; with four courtyards, ftabling for twenty horfes, coach-houses, &c. The apartments, to the number of forty, are fpacious, regular, and convenient. It hath alfo an extenfive garden, walled round, but not yet planted; tho' the labourers are employed in levelling and improving the ground. In the mean time, I amuse myself with sketching out a defign, which I hope to fee put into execution about the month of October next.

"Excufe me, dear fifter, for entertaining you with topics of fo trifling and domeftic a nature: but, as I am fenfible how much you intereft yourself in every thing that concerneth your brother, I flatter myself that the minuteft circumstances which contribute to my ease or fatisfaction, cannot be disagreeable to you. Another time I will endeavour to entertain you with matters of greater importance."- -Matters of greater importance alfo, oblige

us here to difmifs thefe Letters.

Obfervations